Caterpillar found guilty of stealing quick-coupler trade secrets

Updated Jan 8, 2016
Caterpillar makes 20 models of couplers for excavators and mini excavators, including this Mechanical Dual Lock Coupler-5 ton. Photo: CaterpillarCaterpillar makes 20 models of couplers for excavators and mini excavators, including this Mechanical Dual Lock Coupler-5 ton.
Photo: Caterpillar

Caterpillar has been ordered to pay Miller UK Ltd. nearly $74 million after being found guilty by a federal court in Chicago of stealing trade secrets in order to create its excavator quick-coupler lineup.

The decision comes five years after Miller filed its lawsuit and was the result of an eight-week trial.

“We are disappointed by the jury’s verdict,” a Cat spokeswoman told the Peoria JournalStar. “We are considering our next steps in this litigation.”

At one point, Caterpillar was Miller’s largest customer, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Journal reports Miller released its Bug coupler in the late 1990s and grew rapidly thanks to the device’s ability to allow excavator operators to change attachments without leaving the cab.

Caterpillar quickly grew attached to the Miller coupler. An October report from the New York Times says in 2006 Caterpillar accounted for as much as 28 percent of Miller’s business, placing about 10,000 orders per year for the company’s quick couplers.

Miller told the Wall Street Journal that Caterpillar “insisted on access to confidential information” about the design of the coupler before ending its relationship with the company in 2008 with the release of its own couplers.

Caterpillar currently offers 20 models of couplers for excavators and mini excavators, according to its website.

The loss of Cat’s business devastated Miller UK Ltd., causing it to cut three quarters of its then-400-employee workforce.

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